Dating Akabane
by s.j. snodgrass
Summary: Riko has not forgotten that Akabane gave her his email address, and after a bit of chatting on instant messenger, she invites him on a date. But can she keep him entertained long enough to finish the date?


**A/N: Hi there! This is my first Get Backers fic, inspired by episode 27 with that annoying Riko girl. I wanted to shoot her. But since I can't, here is my revenge. **

**Disclaimer: Get Backers is not mine, but belongs to its respective owners. **

It had been a long day of school today for Riko Tachibana. Not only had the school nurse not let her go home when she claimed to be sick, (and it had been a spectacularly convincing performance, in Riko's opinion) but her homeroom teacher had the audacity, yes, _audacity_ to take away _her_, Riko Tachibana's, cell phone. Nobody did that. This needs to be reiterated for emphasis, _**nobody **_took away Riko Tachibana's cell phone and lived to tell the tale. Unfortunately, when that is said to a teacher, the reaction is not the desired one. Thus, she had been sentenced to detention that day for threatening a teacher. So no it was five o'clock in the afternoon, and Riko knew she had missed at least fifty calls. The bad thing was that she had no way of knowing who had called her because her cell phone was conveniently stowed in the top drawer of her teacher's desk.

She heaved a sigh and flopped down at her desk in her room, her mood immediately brightening as she flipped on her computer. Her teacher may have confiscated her cell phone, but there were other ways of communication in the modern world.

She quickly typed in her email address and signed on to her instant messaging account. She sat back with a smile as the first wave of awaiting emails hit her. Then she slowly clicked out of them and browsed through the names of those people that were online at the moment. She had roughly two-hundred names and emails in her instant messenger, and at least fifty of them were online at this very moment. She scrolled down the list of names, deciding who to talk to. She may enjoy talking to whoever whenever on her phone, but she didn't like talking here as much. It took too much effort to type back and forth.

Very slowly as she read the names her lips parted and she read the names out loud or muttered little notes about them to herself.

"Motoko…..Misaki….Hey, they owe me money…….Tsuzuki…..why are they still in here?...no, she's a bitch now…….ooh….broke up with him, not a good choice……Maya…..Natsume……Dr. Jackal……"

She paused at the last name. Dr. Jackal? Oh! Yes! He was that handsome older guy in the black she had met when those stupid Get Backers wasted her day with their 'bag' nonsense. She hadn't recognized the name at first because she remembered him as Akabane-san. It was his idea to have her record his name as Dr. Jackal. Ooh….he was handsome. She remembered that the first week after she had gotten his email address she checked to see if he was on all day. After a while, though, she had become accustomed to the fact that he was _never_ online. Then she imagined that he must have given her a fake email address, so she had dismissed him and put him at the bottom of her contacts list, a grave insult in her mind. Yet she had never deleted it completely, and she was glad for it now.

RikoHime says: **Hi, Akabane-san! How r u today?**

She was giddy all over, watching his status out of the corner of her eye to make sure he didn't sign off. Slowly, though, the giddy feeling ebbed away into anger at the fact that he had yet to reply to her.

"I mean, jeez, its been a minute already!" She hissed under her breath. She was about to close the message window completely when she was alerted to a reply.

There, typed in dark red and curling font, was the reply she was waiting for.

Dr. Jackal says: _Hello, Tachibana-san. I am doing well today, thank you for asking. How are you fairing? You are well too, I hope?_

She was afraid she might faint then and there. Not only had he replied, but he had asked how she was! Normally she didn't get this happy over some guy, but this was an older guy. An older guy who used very formal language.

RikoHime says: **I'm doing good. What did u do today? U know, u really rnt online very often.**

Dr. Jackal says: _I'm glad you are doing well. I know I'm not online very often, and I'm sorry. I am very busy, though. In fact today I just finished with a very important job. _

RikoNeko says: **Ooh, a job? What do u do? Is it exciting? **

Dr. Jackal says: _Oh, very exciting, most of the time. However this job was not as exciting as my usual jobs. I'm a transporter, by the way._

RikoHime says: **Rly? That sounds kinda boring. What could make it exciting?**

Dr. Jackal says: _I assure you, it is hardly boring, especially if I am entertained by my job. This job was, I'm sorry to say, sorely lacking in entertainment. There was no challenge and I didn't get to write very much._

RikoHime says: **I don't understand. But whatev. But u like challenges? And what do u mean "write'? if u r a transporter, u don't write much. **

Dr. Jackal says: _I love challenges. As for how I write, I write much like the font you see me typing in now._

RikoHime says: **I don't mean that! I mean if u r a transporter, how do u get a chance to write?**

Dr. Jackal says: _I know what you mean. I actually get to write a lot when I work, although I am best at writing "J's"._

RikoHimesays: **J's? Pretty. J for Jackal, right? Lol! I wanna c how u write J's.**

Dr. Jackal: _You do, do you? That can be arranged. _

Riko's heart skipped a beat. Was that a hint that he wants to see her again face to face? Might as well ask, she thought. She knew she would regret it if she didn't.

RikoHime says: **Maybe u cud show me this Friday, at the Honky Tonk Café at 8?**

She held her breath, and there was a pause in the conversation.

Dr. Jackal says: _Are you asking me on a date, Tachibana-san?_

Riko felt herself flush. Just play it cool like the older girls, you can do it, she thought.

RikoHime says: **Maybe.**

Dr. Jackal says: _I would love to, but I am afraid I have a job on Friday_.

Riko's heart sank. She had expected it, of course, being rejected. After all, she was just a fifteen year old girl, he was at least twenty-five….

Dr. Jackal says: _But you are welcome to accompany me._

"YES!" Riko jumped from her desk as the words reached her screen. She eagerly typed back.

RikoHime says: **Cool! Yeah! And u can meet me at the Café. Call me if u r late…oh, wait, my teacher took my phone away. :(**

Dr. Jackal says: _It's a date, then. I'm sorry about your phone, though. Perhaps you should hire the Get Backers to recover it._

RikoHime says: **Those clowns? Ur funny. They prolly couldn't find it if it was right in their faces. **

Dr. Jackal says: _Be nice, now. They are very fun. I have to go now, though. I need to shower and clean my clothes. I'm afraid they got a little dirty during my last job. I'll see you on Friday, Tachibana-san._

RikoHime says: **Goodbye, Akabane-san! Have a good night!**

The euphoria form her plans went on for quite a while that night, almost as long as the image of Akabane in the shower drifted in and out of her mind.

**A/N: Well, what do you think? Second chapter will be up tomorrow. By the way, if you couldn't tell, everytime it says Dr. Jackal says:…..or RikoHime says:…..They are talking via instant messaging. Review if you can! Thanks!**


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